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One of the most critical responsibilities of any Blackstone griddle chef is maintaining the right temperature for food while cooking. Cooking at the right temperature ensures food safety, as well as the most delicious outcome when you’re using a Blackstone griddle.
It’s easy to look up the proper temperature for the different foods you make, but it’s also necessary to make sure your Blackstone griddle meets those required temperatures. How do you determine the temperature of your Blackstone griddle? How hot can they get? Let’s find out.
What Temperature Should the Griddle Top Be?
Many of the foods you’ll cook on your Blackstone griddle will need a temperature somewhere between 325 degrees and 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sometimes, you’ll want to increase the heat to 550 degrees when you’re searing something like a steak and need to cook it at a very high temperature for a few minutes.
However, if you’re cooking something like pancakes, you don’t need a temperature higher than 375 degrees. You can cook eggs at an even lower temperature with no need to heat your griddle any higher than about 325 to 350 degrees.
If you’re cooking bacon with your eggs, make sure the bacon side of the griddle reaches about 375 degrees. You can cook hash browns at a similar temperature or around 350 degrees.
Is There a Temperature Range that the Top Can Reach?
Your Blackstone griddle can cook foods at a wide range of temperatures, which is helpful when you’re interested in cooking different types of food at different temperatures.
Your griddle isn’t just a surface for pancakes. It’s also an ideal cooktop for steaks, eggs, vegetables, and anything you can imagine.
Your Blackstone griddle should be able to reach a temperature of 500 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just about the hottest temperature you’ll ever need to cook anything.
It only takes a few minutes to reach its highest temperature, with different models offering slightly different timeframes for maximum heat.
Blackstone Griddle Top Temperature
Although your Blackstone griddle can reach a temperature of 600 degrees (or slightly more), you won’t usually need to run the griddle on its highest temperature setting for more than a few minutes, and only when you’re cooking certain foods in a particular way (like steak).
It should take your griddle about eight or nine minutes to reach its maximum temperature of approximately 600 to 640 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to Get Blackstone Griddle Hotter?
If you’re using your Blackstone during the winter, you’ll probably need to take a few extra minutes to get it to your desired temperature. A thermometer can help you in the winter when it might take slightly longer for the griddle to reach the temperature you want.
Certain griddle models also heat up faster or slower than others, so it’s helpful to take a look at the instructions for your particular model to time your cooking correctly. If you find that your griddle isn’t getting close to the temperature you want, it might be time to replace the propane tank.
How to Check Griddle Temperature
It’s easy to use the knobs on the front of your Blackstone griddle to get an approximate temperature, but you might find it helpful to use a hand-held temperature gauge to ensure your griddle surface is the exact temperature you want.
The temperature knobs are a great start for getting your griddle up to the temperature you want, but you may find it helpful to have the added reassurance of an external temperature gauge to tell you the current temperature of your Blackstone cooktop.
You may elect to use an infrared thermometer, which is shaped exactly like a hand-held thermometer your doctor might use.
Rather than pointing the thermometer at your ear, however, you’ll point your hand-held griddle thermometer close to the surface of your Blackstone.
Blackstone Griddle Hot Spots
As you learn to cook on your Blackstone griddle, you’ll figure out where your hot spots are and when to use them. One of the most convenient aspects of cooking with a Blackstone griddle is the option to cook different foods simultaneously.
When you know your hot spots, you can choose to cook items there that require extra heat and place your lower-heat foods on the other side.
You can also manipulate the knobs at the front of your griddle to cook foods at different temperatures.
For example, imagine you’re cooking steak and eggs. Your eggs only need to reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to cook safely, but searing your steaks for the first two or three minutes of their cooking time requires a hot 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.
Blackstone Griddle Temperature Gauge
Just like a traditional grill, a Blackstone griddle will get hotter directly above the gas tubes and the flames when the griddle is on and active.
You can point your thermometer to different parts of the griddle and see a moderate difference in temperature based on the location of the flames and the temperature in each zone. You can also modify the temperature in different areas by using the knobs on different heat settings.
Final Thoughts
The best way to figure out the temperature on your Blackstone griddle is to try different foods and practice with heat settings, cooking times, and recipes. It’s easy to find simple tips and recommendations for ideal cooking temperatures for various foods. Still, part of the enjoyment of using your griddle is figuring out how to put a unique spin on your favorite meals. Experiment and have fun!
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.